The apocryphal story of Judith and Holofernes accounts how the beautiful Jewish widow is invited into the tent of Holofernes, an Assyrian general preparing an attack on the Jewish town of Bethulia. She decapitates the general, who is in a drunken sleep, and consequently saves her town, sending the Assyrians fleeing. Many Renaissance and Baroque artists painted Judith and Holofernes, including Cranach the Elder, Mantegna, Caravaggio, and the iconic version by Artemisia Gentileschi. Contemporary artists painted the highly dramatic story as well, including Gustav Klimt and Kehinde Wiley, who painted a black Judith and a white Holofernes. Fenton’s version brings the story into contemporary times and flips the storyline to make Judith a senior citizen and Holofernes an Adonis-like young man, leaving the viewer to contemplate the psychological reasons for themselves.
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The Last Dismissal of Hagar
In Genesis, Sarah persuades Abraham to cast out her servant Hagar along with Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar. Ishmael grew up to become the patriarch of the Arab Nations, and Isaac, Sarah’s and Abraham’s son, became the patriarch of the Jews and Christians. The separation of the two step-brothers marks the beginning of the struggle between the Semitic cousins, Arabs and Jews, that continues to this day. Fenton acknowledges this story’s place in art history by including an image of Robert Strange’s 18th-century painting above the fireplace. Both artists recreate the story in their own time period, presenting the story as a contemporary domestic drama. If Isaac and Ishmael cannot find a way to share their home, Fenton suggests it will surely be lost to both of them.